This was an assignment I was assigned for Honors English 2. The prompt read, “Write a narrative in which a modern hero defeats a modern monster. For example, while Grendel represented the threats of Beowulf’s time: violence, murder, and discord, there are unique problems to our own: political division, climate change, shortages, etc. The modern monster I chose is suicide, and my hero is a first responder. 

Modern Monster 

One cloudy afternoon a 20 year old girl was sitting behind closed doors in her small one room apartment in the big city of New York. Stressica was her name and she is being eaten alive from the inside out by her little friend that has lived in her head since the day she started Pre-k. Edgy was his name, and no matter how hard she tried she could never get rid of him. Edgy is the monster that lies inside that no one really ever sees or talks about except for when Stressica breaks down. Edgy constantly tells lies to her, always making sure she feels like she is not worthy enough of being part of this world anymore and no one would miss her if she wasn’t here. Stressica has done the therapy, and she has tried the breathing methods but nothing ever works because Edgy never leaves. Well that was until one day. 

On this particular day Stressica had woken after a night of really no sleep, it felt as though Edgy was very present that night and she couldn’t escape his whisper in her ear no matter how hard she tried. That was the day she decided to do something she had been thinking about for over a year now. She had all the materials she just had to do it there was no other way out except for this, or at least that’s what Edgy told her. She picked up her phone while she held a gun in her other hand. She messaged her mom the message no one ever wants to receive and explained to her how sorry she was that she was ever born, and she lastly said I love you so much. 

Her mother was baking on the chilly day when she received this text. She immediately lost almost all feeling in her body, but she knew that there was only one way to potentially save her daughter. So, she picked up her phone and dialed 9-1-1. She (in tears) explained the situation and the first responders immediately understood that tone and knew what they were about to walk into. They had been trained for this situation but that doesn’t make it any easier. 

Mitigate the most trained first responder for this situation prepared herself for what was to come. These battles she fought were never easy and she would always either end up as the hero who saved someone’s loved one or the person who couldn’t save them. When she reached the door she burst in and there Stressica was, but to almost a sigh of relief she hadn’t yet done what Mitigate thought she would have. This still wasn’t good but it meant that the battle wasn’t already won by an evil villain.

Mitigate looked at Stressica who still had the gun in her hand telling her this wasn’t the right choice, there were people who loved her and were there for her, this wasn’t the only option. But Stressica could hardly hear Mitigate because this loud scream was in her ear telling her it was all a lie just like everything everyone else tells her on a daily basis. They don’t actually love her, that’s just something people feel forced to say. Mitigate then realized it wasn’t stressica she was fighting it was this little thing you couldn’t see but many people had living within them. 

Mitigate started to yell and scream because the one thing she knew she needed to do was get Stressica to be able to hear her over Edgy. She began to yell so loud the people on the bottom floor could hear her. She asked what this monster’s name was and Stressica said Edgy. Mitigate yelled “Edgy, you have no power anymore for I will take this girl’s life out of your hands.” Edgy became very angry and started to show on the outside of Stressica she began to punch and kick Mitigate screaming in her face to leave because he will always win and she will always lose no matter what she does. He said, “I have taken many lives and I won’t stop here.” What Edgy didn’t realize is that as he was kicking and punching it gave Mitigate a perfect opportunity to take the gun from Stressicas hand. 

That’s when Edgy knew he couldn’t take her life he had missed his opportunity. He went into hiding, Stressica was taken to a facility where she truly learned her self value and fought hard everyday to keep Edgy away. Edgy wasn’t someone who had been killed or would never return but for Mitigate it wasn’t about that, the victory came from the fact that Stressica was still alive and one alive is better than none, so she took that as a win in her books. 

I would like to conclude with a thank you to all of our first responders, and don’t allow Edgy to ruin your new year.